Game Reviews

Contest of Champions is a beautiful and fun fighting game for iOS and Android devices. The game takes your through a series of missions where you must compete against bosses, such as Kang the Conquerer, for a purpose that I would deem too spoiler-y to add to a review. The Collector summons you in to control a group of heroes and villains of your choosing to fight against other heroes and villains to inevitably be declared the victor or the battle realm.

Contest of Champions is based on the 80's Marvel series of the same name. Given that the story already exists, it seems to be looked over that somebody has in fact written and modernised the story they use in the game. Dan Humphries, writer of Legendary Star Lord, has sat down with Kabam (the developers) and written the fantastic story that you learn as you play through the game.

The idea is that you collect crystals which allow you to unlock characters. You get several types of crystals. Daily rewards, premium currency purchases, multiplayer point purchases and rewards for completing missions. Some crystals unlock health/revives/energy, some unlock XP and some unlock champions.

Champions have a great way of working together as you put them in teams. Synergy bonuses are used to give you an edge. For example, Gamora gets an added perk when teamed up with Starlord, based on their history in the comics. All the heroes have other heroes they work well with. If you assemble the perfect team, based on that alone, your team will stand a better chance of winning.

You can rank up your champions in the game. As you win certain game types you will unlock base crystals and IOS-8, which is basically XP. Those two allow you to level up and rank up your heroes. As your hero reaches a certain level, they will cap at that point and you will need base crystals to rank them up so they can continue to level up and get stronger. Confusing in text, but makes sense as you play the game. You can also do daily strikes to help upgrade certain hero types.

Along with hero levels are also stars. 1-4 stars are weakest to strongest, 4 stars being the top tier hero and extremely difficult to obtain. The most common is 2 stars, and 3 stars is rare. It is also unusual to obtain a 1 star hero after a certain point, but it can happen.

There are 6 hero types throughout the game. Science, Mutant, Cosmic, Skill, Mystic and Tech. Each hero type is stronger and weaker against another hero type. This will give you advantages if you plan your team out correctly.

You also have a choice to play "versus" which is usually PVP, but can sometimes also be events like 3 on 3. Playing versus is the only way to unlock the Punisher as a character. I was lucky enough to unlock him the day before writing this, which is good or I would of said it was impossible. Before unlocking him I had never even seen another player use him. However, as with cars, once you get one, you begin to see it everywhere. I still see people complaining that they could not unlock him, but it is indeed possible. Keep on hoping, true believers.

As you play multiplayer you will gradually unlock battle chips. They are used to unlock exclusive crystals, which can then unlock the Punisher as a character for you.

Each hero also has their own (somewhat) unique attacks. These are moves that build up as you fight and they can then be used at strategic times to help give you a leg up in a fight. They are little bars in the bottom corner that will fill up as the fight goes on. They go up slightly as you land a punch or a kick, and they go up a lot faster when the hits are done to you. Then will then allow you to launch a deadly sequence of attacks to drain the other players health. The stronger your hero is, the more powerful the attacks. Once you have 3 bars, it will begin a video sequence that will do an unbelievable amount of damage to your enemies.

When you play the multiplayer modes you will begin against much weaker opponents and then as your win streak goes up, their difficulty goes up. Eventually you will fight people twice your strength. This process continues until your win streak is broken, and then it will start again. It becomes quite stressful, but it keeps things interesting.

All in all it is a great game. I really enjoy it. It reminds me a lot of Mortal Kombat or Gods Among Us. I was always more of a Marvel fan than a DC fan, so this is a more fitting game for me, personally.

I honestly can't put this game down. I really enjoy it. All in all, if you like fighters, Marvel, or both, then this is perfect for you.